Lahore leads the list of the most polluted cities on the globe with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 261 (very unhealthy) on Friday.
According to the data collected from the IQ Air website on Friday at 06:35 pm, Tashkent (Uzbekistan) ranked second with an AQI of 226 (very unhealthy), followed by Delhi (India) with an AQI of 221 (very unhealthy).
The air quality in fourth- to sixth-ranked cities is unhealthy, while it is unhealthy for sensitive groups in cities ranked 15th to 21st.
Kolkata (India) is ranked in fourth place with an AQI of 194 (unhealthy), closely followed by Cairo (Egypt) and Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia) with an AQI of 192 and 183, respectively (also unhealthy).
Karachi (Pakistan) is ranked in seventh place with an AQI of 178 (unhealthy), followed by Dhaka (Bangladesh) with an AQI of 176 (unhealthy).
Tehran (Iran) is ranked ninth, while Shanghai (China) is in tenth place with an AQI of 163 and 160 (unhealthy), respectively.
Lahore and most districts in Punjab have been reeling under toxic smog for the last over one and a half months, the AQI hovering around unhealthy, very unhealthy and hazardous levels. This situation will likely persist as no significant rain-giving system is approaching the country in the near future.
The air quality is deteriorating due to emissions from moving and stationary sources and stable atmospheric conditions. Health professionals have advised the public to take all possible measures to avoid smog-related health hazards.
